Monday, March 17, 2008

This Sunday was the birthday of both my husband Eric and a little girl named Simone. Obviously, my cat with daisies cake was for the latter's birthday party, created especially for a girl who loves cats and her mother who loves cake. Two tiers, 6" and 8" rounds, were constructed with vanilla sponge, lemon curd, and lemon mousse, aiming to feed at least 30 hungry children and adults.

As always, the most enjoyable part of the process was decorating the cake and the most painful part was letting it go. I used a total of 2 kilograms of rolled fondant; the cat was made entirely of fondant (except for the fishing wire whiskers). In fact, because I was running out of white fondant, the bulk of the cat's body is actually shaped from pink fondant with white fondant covering only the outside, making it mildly anatomically correct.

Sculpting the face took the longest time, as I was determined to capture the look of a genuine feline rather than a cartoon version. The eyes were the most hilarious for me because, I suppose, the ophthalmologist in me still exists and I discovered that there is nothing scarier than a fondant cat with exophthalmos and exotropia (my sincere apologies to anyone suffering from either condition). Ultimately, I was very pleased with the final result, even though the cat does have an uncanny resemblance to Salvador Dali. The cat cake could only fit in my fridge after removing one shelf. I could not stop myself from constantly opening the fridge door compulsively to peek at it.

After the decorating marathon on Saturday, I managed to throw together a 4" Devil's Food cake for Eric. Although small in size, it was simple and delicious. And perhaps because it did not have a face, Eric's cake was much easier to cut and consume without any hint of melancholy. Happy Birthday!

Hello Charmaine,I love your work and can truly appreciate your hardwork. Not long back, I left a job in healthcare and have started my own baking business. Congratulations on your triumphs over design and decorating. I truly feel your pain when mention how hard it is to part with the final product. Keep up the excellent and inspirational work.Teresa

hi, charmaine! i love your website - it's so inspirational! it's been a long time since i saw you but i see eric around at work. such a small world!your cake cat is so cute - not dali-like @ all - check out my cat's webpage - some resemblance!http://bookoo1.blogspot.com/please wish eric a happy belated.cheersjoanna